Conventional outdoor clotheslines located outside windows are awkward, cumbersome and rather hazardous, the user being forced to lean out the window to hang or remove laundry. The present invention has as its principal object the elimination of this situation by providing a device for the retraction of a portion of the clothesline through and inside to permit easy, comfortable, safe laundry loading or unloading. Other objects of this invention are to provide a retractable clothesline device which is uncomplicated to install and operate, is built sturdily to function effectively and efficiently through prolonged use, and can be produced inexpensively.